It does seem that way. I am surprised more by number of 20 year olds that are going, seems older than in most years. Hopefully they have done their due diligence as far as real out of pocket expenses go when moving to the OJ. I have also noticed an interesting number of players coming into the GOJHL from the OJ, NOJHL and some other JrA leagues seems. Many of the leagues under the CJHL have reduced the number of 20 year olds to 8 with many planning to reduce to 6 in future seasons. If the OJ follows older players may be arriving more than departing in future seasons.

Last season's Oct , Dec and Jan deadlines seem to have funneled in quite a few Junior A player's into the GO, but having watched some throughout the league they never really stock out or made positive impacts to the team, their skating and hockey skill were less to be desired for the most part. Especially those that came from the NOJHL for whatever reason?

Last season's Oct , Dec and Jan deadlines seem to have funneled in quite a few Junior A player's into the GO, but having watched some throughout the league they never really stock out or made positive impacts to the team, their skating and hockey skill were less to be desired for the most part. Especially those that came from the NOJHL for whatever reason?

Most people I've talked to believe the GOJHL is a far better league than the NOJHL in talent and skill.

I'm not looking to be mean or nasty, but, offer honest assessment based on what I know and what so called experts believe as fact.
Cut and dried, the NOJHL and the Superior League are widely considered a notch below many Junior A leagues throughout the country.
Yes, the odd year, there might be a good team or two in the NOJHL who could compete in the upper echelon of the GO, but that would be the exception and not the rule.
Just using the last two years as an example, the NO's representatives at the Dudley Hewitt Cup have placed last. The Voodoos of Powasson, whom lost like a total of five games all season long got their a**es handed to them against legit teams from the OJHL, etc. Same goes for Cochrane at this year's event.
Now, moving on to the OJHL, which is my forte: Don't think for a second this league doesn't have major issues of its own. Let's start with half the league being absolutely non competitive and not true junior A caliber. Most don't even hide the fact and eventually trade away any talent that mistakenly stumble into their organizations.
Then there are the nefarious organizations who outright blatantly cheap. Tampering, paying players, or simply flouting league and OHA rules at ever turn possible. Read, clear as day, the Trenton Golden Hawks! Or read, any team associated with Jerome DuPont, which happens to be the Cobourg Cougars.

To be clear and to try to make my points in a more positive manner, I will now attempt to offer a list of OJHL clubs which most deem to be run in a first class manner.
1a & b: Oakville Blades and Wellington Dukes. Two best run clubs far and away. Been that way for years!
2: Toronto Patriots. Other than a lack of true fan base or a decent rink, it's run as a classy organization.
3: St. Michaels Buzzers, North York Rangers, Kingston Voyaguers.
4: Pickering Panthers: Until recently, this has always been a sh*t organization. Not any more!
5: Aurora Tiger's, Newmarket Hurricanes, Toronto Jr. Canadians and the Markham Royals. All with some form of issue, but, still decent organizations.

*As for the rest, it's clearly buyer beware! Take your choice; either daddy run clubs or nefarious, big fat lying teams.
Eventually, these GO guys who transfer to the OJ will hopefully do their homework and due diligence and not get get hoodwinked into some of these awful situations.

My experience with the OJ and even some of the CCHL teams is that for a player going in you really need to do your due diligence. There are some well operated clubs and some complete disasters. Daddy owned teams are rarely if ever a good environment, but happen too often in the OJ. Players also need to understand how important it is to establish what the team covers and what the player is on the hook for. OHA leagues impose fees that the players are responsible to pay, some teams will find players jobs to offset the costs , some will just outright cover it for certain players. As far as I know most if not all GOJHL teams supply a limited number of sticks and all of the outer equipment less skates, some teams make the player buy their own equipment including all sticks even though they may not be there very long. Some teams have huge team assessments that they player may only learn about after signing if he hasn't done his due diligence. Some teams will say they provide billets for their players but neglect to mention who pays for those billets. Bottom line is buyer beware.

As mentioned earlier, The SIJHL and NOJHL are a notch below, likely closer to the GOJHL than any of the other Jr A leagues in Canada

Unfortunately for a player that has thoughts on playing Jr A for better exposure in Ontario, there are 4 leagues but not as many good choices as there should be.

Make no mistake or bones about it, I truly believe a lot of people on this forum and in general look at the GO's designation and just assume it's on par or comparative to the NOJHL.
Wrong!!! The GO is much stronger overall, with deeper and more talented rosters.
How many guys in the NO have major junior experience? Answer: Very few.
How many D1 scholarships does the NO project on a yearly basis? Answer: Over the last decade, it'd equate to possibly 1 per season.
So to all you backers of the GOJHL, don't diminish the product you guys have. It's damn good and in many regards, on par with the OJHL.

Some wonder why kids are jumping to the OJ or other leagues, the fact is more scouts up in TO so much better chance of getting noticed for a chance to play in the USA.I think most have the goal to play NCAA hockey.The Gojhl used to be where you had that chance to get noticed and many kids in the past went on to play in the US and had their schooling paid for,but this has changed if you look on the GOJHL SITE AND SEE HOW ANY PLAYERS have accepted offers to NCAA the last couple yrs very few.I have watched this league for about 40yrs and know kids that went on to play and go to school in USA and they say it was the greatest thing that could have happened to them.My point is I watched a couple kids the last few years and they chose not go to to the OJ and play in the GOHL instead didn't even get a sniff from the US school scouts.The Gojhl is doing nothing for these kids.Ive been to the prospect game the last couple yrs and its ok but this is to showcase your up coming star players and their is hardly any scouts there its a joke.I say if the GOJHL is going to continue to collect player fees then Do something for the players because your doing a very poor job getting them noticed.

The GOJHL showcase is too early. Most new talent wont see the ice much because they are feeling out the league still. Top end returnees are often in OHL camps of haven't even had a practice with the team and are thrown into games. Better leagues operated there's end of September or Early October when the players have a few games under their belt. The GOJHL prospects game does not feature 19 and 20 year olds that are ready to move to NCAA or CIS, instead they only display younger players that are of more interest to the Jr A leagues like the OJHL and CCHL than anyone else. They have been through the OHL drafts already so those scouts don't need to see them again.

The Jr A leagues under the CJHL do their Showcases and/or Prospect games later in the season featuring players of any jr eligble age and are heavily scouted by pro and university (NCAA and CIS) scouts. This is likely a direction the GOJHL will need to move to if they want more graduates

The GOJHL showcase is too early. Most new talent wont see the ice much because they are feeling out the league still. Top end returnees are often in OHL camps of haven't even had a practice with the team and are thrown into games. Better leagues operated there's end of September or Early October when the players have a few games under their belt. The GOJHL prospects game does not feature 19 and 20 year olds that are ready to move to NCAA or CIS, instead they only display younger players that are of more interest to the Jr A leagues like the OJHL and CCHL than anyone else. They have been through the OHL drafts already so those scouts don't need to see them again.

The Jr A leagues under the CJHL do their Showcases and/or Prospect games later in the season featuring players of any jr eligble age and are heavily scouted by pro and university (NCAA and CIS) scouts. This is likely a direction the GOJHL will need to move to if they want more graduates

This has been mentioned several times, but it is the NCAA teams who told the GOJHL to do their showcase weekend that weekend. They said schedules for showcases is so busy that it was the best chance to get a lot of scouts to one place.

As for the league fees mentioned in another post -- they go towards paying the Commissioner. From what I understand, the big push with the money that is funneled to GOJHL Inc. is to promote players south of the border, and bring back that interest.

Ultimately though, it comes back to the organization. Some teams consistently promote their players behind the scenes and get them to where they go. In the Midwest, Elmira, Stratford, Waterloo and Listowel have been able to get D1 offers, or BCHL/NAHL/USHL offers for their players because they do the grinding. As painful as it is to say for me as a Cambridge fan (Still don't know how I feel about this new team) -- they just haven't been a team to consistently do what the other four have.

I'd say the NCAA route is way over rated. Kids get buried there, see limited ice time and its not all made out to be what it is promoted to be.
I'd stay in Canada where there's so much choice and movement between clubs and leagues that you should be able to find a fit., If your good enough you will be noticed.

I'd say the NCAA route is way over rated. Kids get buried there, see limited ice time and its not all made out to be what it is promoted to be.
I'd stay in Canada where there's so much choice and movement between clubs and leagues that you should be able to find a fit., If your good enough you will be noticed.

For kids who still want to chase the NHL dream, it's the best option. Not to mention the schools are top notch and the packages offered are too good to pass up.

In Canada, the option after junior is CIS hockey. It's good, but filled with former CHL'ers utilizing their school packages, and the number who move on from there to the pros is less.